"Let women fly!" Remembering history's first female aviators

"Let women fly!"

The rise and rise of the "aviatrix."

Chris Wild

Early 20th century

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The woman who can create her own job is the woman who will win fame and fortune. - Amelia Earhart

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In 1784, Elisabeth Thible became the first woman to fly, as a passenger in a hot air balloon. Almost 125 years later Thérèse Peltier circled the Military Square in Turin in an aircraft, becoming the first woman to fly solo in a heavier-than-air craft. And so the "aviatrix," the contemporary term given to women who flew aircraft, was born.
In 1917, after the U.S. entry into WWI, "aviatrix" Ruth Law had fought for women to pilot aircraft in battle. When her campaign was unsuccessful, she published an article in Air Travel magazine with the title "Let Women Fly!" These pictures show some of the many women who, like Law, continued to open a new territory for women, in the sky and on the earth.From March 2-8, 2015 we continue to honor them with Women of Aviation Week, a time to celebrate the female pioneers who created careers and inspired millions against the odds.

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There is no reason why the aeroplane should not open up a fruitful occupation for women. I see no reason they cannot realize handsome incomes. - Harriet Quimby, "Aviatrix"

A vintage postcard showing Therese Peltier, the first woman to pilot a heavier-than-air craft, in Turin. Credit: Popperfoto/Getty Images

Blanche Scott (1885-1970), possibly the first American woman aviator and also the second woman to drive across the United States. Credit: Rue des Archives/RDA/Getty Images

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Winifred Spooner (1900-1933), English aviator. In 1930 Spooner set off from London with another pilot, Captain Edwards, to try to prove that Cape Town in South Africa could be reached in five days, flying nonstop. One night, with Edwards at the controls, the plane lost height and ditched into the sea off the coast of Italy. Edwards could not swim, so Spooner had to swim the two miles to shore in order to fetch help, leaving Edwards sitting on the fuselage of the aircraft. Spooner died three years later, having caught a cold which developed into pneumonia. Credit: Roger Viollet Collection/Getty Images

Ruth Nichols (1901-1960) with her plane. At one point, Nichols held seperate world records for a woman pilot in speed, distance and altitude. Her well-to-do family earned her the name "The Flying Debutante" in the press. Credit: Planet News Archive/SSPL/Getty Images

"Katherine Sai Fun Choung, a young aviator has just got her pilot license and goes back to China, where she will opened an aviation school for girls." Credit: Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images

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Lady Louise Montagu, daughter of the Duke of Manchester, standing next to her plane, having taken her "A" license and completed a bling flying course, Heaton Airport, Chester. Credit: Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

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I lay no claim to advancing scientific data other than advancing flying knowledge. I can only say that I do it because I want to. - Amelia Earhart